The coolest part of watching that video for me was watching Gronk's footwork on the sideline. The way he swings his leg way out and at a funny angle so it would be in the perfect place to plant and hold him in bounds despite the momentum--all while dealing with everything else--is one of those apparently small but vital things that these players do so well.

It almost looks awkward, except that it's perfect. It's like some kung fu movie thing.

Mike and Mike talked with Gronkowski on a call-in this week. Mike Greenberg, who is a huge Jets fan says Gronk was either hatched or came down from another planet. As far as DeAngelo Hall, three possible scenarios:

1. Looked possibly like he thought the two other Redskins defenders were going to bring him down.

2. Maybe Hall thought if he joined in the fray, he'd end up with an unnecessary roughness penalty (related to 1 above).

That's a wonderful article I was just coming here to post too. My favorite quote:

"I told Rob whenever he builds his first house, there's no doubt there will be a big slide with a bunch of plastic balls in his living room," [High School Coach] Mammoliti said. "He said, 'You know what, Coach? That's a great idea!'"

Anyone who wants to get pumped for Saturday should read that. And maybe we should rename the thread title to be about more general Gronkery.

Rob's father, Gordon, a former offensive lineman for Syracuse who was revered by his sons, hurled tennis balls at them at close range with the aim of teaching them toughness, perseverance and hand-eye coordination. By the time Rob was 13, he was inching closer and closer to the Jugs machine his father bought them, hauling in bullets from just 12 yards away.

I imagine him as a totally unskilled center just barreling through people like a moose, losing the puck on a breakaway that he creates singlehandedly by flattening two people, mucking into the corner, flattening someone else, losing the puck again, and just rinsing and repeating as he barrels around like a drunk Mark Messier, ultimately getting a penalty for goaltender interference. Sound about right?

Or, if you are an advanced stat analyst, you can pick an All-Pro team based on advanced stats. And when ESPN asked us to pick a Football Outsiders All-Pro team, that's exactly what we did. We also decided to structure our All-Pro team like a real NFL lineup, instead of an NFL lineup from 20 years ago. Since NFL teams now use three or more wide receivers on more plays than they use just two wide receivers, we've picked three receivers instead of a fullback.

. . .

TE: Rob Gronkowski, PatriotsThis one is pretty easy, as Gronkowski had the best tight end season in NFL history. He set records for yardage (1,327) and touchdowns (17) while catching 73 percent of pass targets (as opposed to 66 percent for the also-excellent and nearly record-setting Jimmy Graham). Gronkowski had 505 DYAR. No tight end had ever put up more than 375 DYAR before.

Diane Gronkowski's full-time job was keeping the two freezers and refrigerator in the garage and the main fridge in the kitchen stocked with hearty meals for her five sons with bottomless appetites. They blew threw two six-pound bags of Sahlen's hot dogs for a snack, then an hour later were clamoring for dinner.

How the hell does that happen in a magazine article? Five days later and they still haven't corrected it.

The last spike got me hoping that I had somehow forgot a Gronk "double spike".

Spikes the ball, it goes high into the air, he catches it on the bounce and spikes it again.

A discount double spike, if you will.

The last one was the TD where he thought he'd broken the receiving TDs for a tight end record, spiked it, then remembered he wanted to keep the ball. But then it was ruled a running TD on a lateral anyway.

The last one was the TD where he thought he'd broken the receiving TDs for a tight end record, spiked it, then remembered he wanted to keep the ball. But then it was ruled a running TD on a lateral anyway.

The last one was the actual record...it was in D.C. the following week.